The Denver Broncos are pushing hard to get a new stadium built, but plans for the old Mile High are up in the air.
The Denver Broncos are trying to get a new stadium, and they’re putting the final plans in place. The Broncos are getting some pushback on the Burnham Yards location, however, and there’s also the question of what would happen to the current site, which is Empower Mile High.
Parker Gabriel of the Denver Post tackled this question in his latest reader mailbag, and he started by saying there’s no clear answer yet. There’s plenty of football history on the old Mile High site, but Denver mayor Michael Johnston has different plans in mind.
“When will you ever get 80 acres of central Denver back, that the city owns, to be able to completely redevelop with community voice?” Johnston said then. “That’s unheard of. It’s just such a critical place where it’s deeply engaged in Sun Valley and the identity of West Denver.
“It’s also the connection to downtown. You can imagine how you could live right there on the old Mile High site and you could walk right under the bridge and you’re at the Auroria campus or you’re at Ball Arena or downtown. It’s going to be an incredible opportunity for the West side of Denver.”
The good news for Broncos fans who value that history is that none of this is going to happen soon. The planning process to decide what will happen at the old Mile High site is set to kick off in “late 2027.” The Broncos wouldn’t start playing at the new Burnham Yards site until 2031, and when the lease runs out on the old stadium, that’s when the city would take control.
After that, the football history probably vanishes. Community use is expected to be a priority, as will affordable housing and creative development projects.
“If it’s all owned by a private developer, we’re begging them to do a little more affordability here and a little more affordability there,” Johnston said back in September. “When we own the land, the people get to set all the terms for what happens there. That’s unheard of. There’s not a place where we could afford to acquire that much land to be competing with private developers who would jack up the prices.
“This is a real game-changer for West Denver to have these two neighborhoods that will be places that are both incredibly exciting and attractive and can stay affordable. That’s the big win for the city.”
This is good news for the city of Denver, which is and should be the priority here, but mixed news for football fans who go way back with the Broncos and either remember of value some of the franchise’s great moments. They go all the way back to 1960, and once they’re gone there’s no way to bring them back.